Hydro Is a Necessity, Not a Luxury: MPP Gretzky

Queen’s Park—During question period today, Windsor West NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky called on the premier to admit that electricity is a necessity, not a luxury, and start treating it as such.

“For people living in Windsor like Mary, even the most basic services are more and more out of reach,” said Gretzky. “I’m not talking about luxuries. Mary doesn’t have a pool, hot tub, or even a dishwasher. As she says, it’s just basic living. And the price for basic living: a $200 electricity bill, double what she was paying last year.”

Yesterday, Ontario’s New Democrats released a plan for Ontarians to own more and pay less for electricity in the province. The plan would see Ontarians’ hydro bills cut by 20 to 30 per cent through a comprehensive plan to fix the system. The NDP will bring Hydro One back into public ownership, end mandatory Time-of-Use pricing and end premium delivery charges. The plan will start lowering bills immediately, and will result in billions of dollars being returned to Ontario instead of ending up in the hands of private and foreign corporations.

“Will this Liberal government listen to Mary, finally admit that electricity is a necessity, not a luxury, and begin to treat it that way?” asked Gretzky.